Authorities have issued safety warnings to members of the public intending to travel to beaches this weekend as temperates are forecast to reach the mid-high 30°Cs in some parts of the UK.
Public Health England, the Met Office and the RNLI have urged those heading to the beach over the next few days to take care as the country braces itself for a possible heatwave.
The Met Office has issued a heat health alert for parts of England into next week.
Whilst temperature highs across Greater Manchester are not expected to exceed 30°C over the next few days, parts of London and South West England are preparing to see rising temperates of 37°C until Sunday.
This would mean that parts of Britain could pass the threshold for an official heatwave.
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The Met Office defines a heatwave as “an extended period of hot weather relative to the expected conditions of the area at that time of year, which may be accompanied by high humidity” and the heatwave threshold, which varies depending on location, is reached when daily maximum temperatures are met or exceeded for three consecutive days.
The UK recorded the hottest day of the year and the third warmest day on record last Friday, with temperatures rising to 37.8C at Heathrow Airport in London.
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The RNLI’s latest safety warning comes after it reported its busiest day for more than four years, dealing with more than 300 incidents.
The institution is asking the public to please #BeBeachSafe
Ahead of this week’s sunny spell, Gareth Morrison – Head of Water Safety at the RNLI – said: “Our coastline is a fantastic place to spend time together as a family, especially when the sun is out and it’s hot, but there are also plenty of potential dangers, especially for those who aren’t fully aware of their surroundings and may be visiting a particular beach for the first time.”
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“We are advising everyone planning a visit to a beach or the coast to follow beach safety advice.”
Heading to the beach this weekend? Please #BeBeachSafe and follow these simple steps to protect your loved ones: ? Keep an eye on your family ❎ Don't use inflatables ? ? In an emergency, dial 999 for the @HMCoastguard ? pic.twitter.com/NAIIX2uwEk
Ishani Kar-Purkayastha – Consultant in Public Health at Public Health England – added that: “Many of us welcome warmer weather, but some people may find it more difficult to cope. People recovering from COVID-19 at home, those who are self-isolating, older people and people with underlying health conditions are all more vulnerable during hot weather.”
“This summer, many of us are spending more time at home due to COVID-19. A lot of homes can overheat, so it’s important we continue to check on older people and those with underlying health conditions, particularly if they’re living alone and may be socially isolated.”
“If you need to provide direct care to someone at risk from hot weather… the most important advice is to ensure they stay hydrated, keep cool and know how to keep their homes cool.”
Warming up today but the heat really arrives tomorrow
Like last week not everywhere will experience the exceptional heat
The Met Office said there was a “low chance” that last week’s record temperature would be beaten again, but that large parts of the country would see “four or even five consecutive days of incredibly warm temperatures” before cold air moves in overnight on Sunday.
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Conditions are expected to stay “hot and humid” next week with “chances of thundery showers”.
Commenting on how long the hot weather is expected to last, Chris Bulmer – Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office – said: “The hot airmass will remain over much of England and Wales until early next week, so we’ll continue to see maximum temperatures in the low to mid-30s Celsius as the heatwaves continues.”
Updated Greater Manchester and UK-wide forecasts can be found via the Met Office website here.
For further information and guidance amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, do refer to official sources via gov.uk/coronavirus.
#EnjoySummerSafely
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Football Manager 25 has been officially cancelled following delays
Danny Jones
Beloved videogame simulator Football Manager 25 has been officially cancelled following continued delays.
The long-standing game where players take control as virtual managers of football teams has been a mainstay of digital sporting entertainment for more than three decades.
Developed by London-based studio Sports Interactive and published by gaming giants SEGA, the game hasn’t missed a single season since it began life as Championship Manager back in 1992.
However, following two significant delays to this year’s title, Sports Interactive have confirmed that Football Manager 25 has now been cancelled, despite countless pre-orders having already been made.
While the news doesn’t come as a total surprise, with FM25 having first been delayed ahead of its initial November 2024 release date and then moved again to March 2025, many fans would
The statement reads: “Sports Interactive [SI] regret to inform that, following extensive internal discussion and careful consideration with SEGA, we have made the difficult decision to cancel Football Manager 25 and shift our focus to the next release.
“For the large numbers of you who pre-ordered FM25, we thank you enormously for your trust and support – we’re very sorry to have let you down. Please see the FAQs below on obtaining your refund.
“We know this will come as a huge disappointment, especially given that the release date has already moved twice, and you have been eagerly anticipating the first gameplay reveal. We can only apologise for the time it has taken to communicate this decision.
“Due to stakeholder compliance, including legal and financial regulations, today was the earliest date that we could issue this statement.”
Insisting that they pride themselves on “delivering the best value for money games that bring you countless hours of enjoyment”, they simply didn’t feel like they were able to release the latest FM title to a good enough standard in its current state following playtesting.
They go on to add that ahead of working on this, the studio undertook the “biggest technical and visual advancement in the series for a generation, laying the building blocks for a new era”, hence why the significant delays. The news has been met with mixed reactions, to say the least.
Don’t worry only gotta wait till November!!! Only in February FFS
— Out of Context Football Manager (@nocontextfm1) February 7, 2025
You can read the statement in full HERE, in which they also rationalise that it simply no longer made sense or felt fair to expect people to buy FM25 when it was ready only to purchase the next instalment later in the year.
Fortunately, with regular updates as well as community mods and patches to the current Football Manager (FM24 was released back in November 2023), loyal fans have been more understanding about the delays and now the cancellation.
SI signed off by stating: “Through the cancellation, every effort is now focused on ensuring that our next release achieves our goal and hits the quality level we all expect. We will update you on how we are progressing with that as soon as we are able to do so.
“Thank you for reading, your patience and your continued support. Our full focus now returns to creating a new era for Football Manager.”
Lighting a candle for the people who collect a physical copy of every Football Manager, with no FM25 their collections will be ruined forever. pic.twitter.com/M1S5LiLJtQ
A Greater Manchester Wetherspoons has been revealed as ‘one of the UK’s most beloved pubs’
Danny Jones
Whatever you make of them, Wetherspoons remains the biggest pub chain in the UK and millions of Brits drink in them every week; in fact, as it turns out, one of their Greater Manchester locations has just been revealed as ‘one of the most beloved pubs’ in the country.
The J D Wetherspoon name is one you’ll typically see at least once if not more in most towns and cities and given that they boast more than 800 across the UK and Ireland, their dominance of the UK drinking scene remains pretty steadfast.
Although many have railed against the massive franchise over the past few years, with thousands famously flocking to use the ‘Neverspoons’ app within just a week of its launch back in 2020, an estimated 20.5 million visit every six months.
The point being, ‘Where is the nearest Spoons?’ is a very common query online and punters still regularly search for them on Google Maps – quite literally, as it happens, as the latest data from the tech giants has revealed just how popular one particular Manchester location is. Drum roll, please…
Marking 20 years of Google Maps’, those behind the website and app pooled together their stats on the best-loved pubs nationwide and, yes, Manchester’s very own Moon Under The Water managed to make the top 20.
The busy Deansgate boozer, famous for rowdy weekends and being one of if not the only Wetherspoons we know of that includes a built-in dancefloor (perhaps the only one full stop) is certainly a memorable watering hole – provided you don’t drink so much you struggle to recollect much of anything.
Whilst we’re on the subject of Wetherspoons, they actually take up half of the list with various venues up and down the country, including four of the top five.
Other names that made the cut were Waxy O’Connor’s London, which once had a space in Manchester’s Printworks; England’s so-called oldest pub, the Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem in Nottingham, as well as few other storied London public houses.
For context, this list was compiled strictly by using data directly from the search engine. The top spots are based on places that have the most reviews and a rating over 4.0 stars on Google Maps and those locations were then calculated by the number of reviews and average review rating taken into account.
The main bar areaThe view from above looking down onto the dancefloorIt is the biggest and one of the most frequented Wetherspoons in all of Greater Manchester. (Credit: The Manc Group)
We’ll admit, of all the brilliant Manchester pubs and bars we know and love, we were quite expecting to see a simple Spoons beating them all out on the list.
Meanwhile, as part of the wider 20th-anniversary round-ups, Google also shared the likes of ‘best’/most-searched restaurants in the country, as well as some of the most popular Italian spots.
The only nod Greater Manchester received was among dining spots, with Turtle Bay’s Northern Quarter venue coming in at number 10.
So, what do you reckon then: are you a fan of Spoons and, more specifically, The Moon Under Water, or do you only support independent pubs and bars?